Atopic dermatitis (AD) and psoriasis are common, chronic inflammatory skin diseases that carry a significant comorbidity burden, with patient populations showing increased prevalence of a range of conditions, including cardio-metabolic, respiratory, and psychiatric disorders. Predictive biomarkers for comorbidity development can help direct at-risk patients towards preventative lifestyle and/or clinical interventions which will improve patient outcomes and reduce overall healthcare burden. We identified 92 established or hypothesised AD and psoriasis comorbidities (73 common to both diseases) with prevalence >2% in UK Biobank (UKB). Disease status for each condition was determined for UKB study participants (n = 496,901, of which 14,761 AD-affected and 8,546 psoriasis-affected) using self-reporting, hospital diagnoses and cancer and death registries. For each comorbidity with sufficient statistical power to detect common risk factors with strong effect (36 comorbidities in AD, 34 in psoriasis), we performed a genome-wide analysis to identify genetic variants contributing significantly different disease risk in AD- or psoriasis-affected individuals compared to AD or psoriasis unaffecteds. This approach identified genome-wide significantly different effect estimates at 44 genomic loci across 15 comorbidities in AD (most notably asthma, skin neoplasm and type 2 diabetes) and 22 loci across 13 comorbidities in psoriasis (notably hypertension and dyslipidaemia). These findings reveal potential genetic biomarkers for increased comorbidity risk in AD and psoriasis. Our findings will inform mechanistic work and support further large-scale studies to validate and establish clinical utility.

ESDR300 - Genome-wide association studies identify genetic variants associated with comorbidities of atopic dermatitis and psoriasis

The scientific meeting of the European Society for Dermatological Research (ESDR) is held yearly, usually in September. With an international attendance of more than 1000 skin scientists from around the globe, the four-day event includes short oral presentations from peer-reviewed abstracts, keynote lectures from international experts, sponsored symposia, satellite programs, educational events as well as an important focus on posters, networking and building collaborations amongst scientists. For more information about this year’s meeting visit our website.